Before I arrived at Northwestern, I had never heard the phrase “you do you.”

If you are unfamiliar with the phrase, it translates roughly to “if it makes you happy, so be it.” For example, if someone says “I’m gonna head home early from the party,” you might very well hear this phrase in response. When I first encountered the phrase, I thought it might be some relic of the Midwestern politeness I had heard so much about while growing up on the East Coast. However, lately I have started to think that it might be representative of something bigger, something derived not from any region but instead from a generation. Namely, “you do you” is an example of how members of our generation are detached.

On March 7, Pew Research Center published a study with many uplifting results. Compared to the previous generation at the same age, the youngest generation of adults (born after 1980), called Millennials, are 13 percent more likely to support same-sex marriage and 16 percent more likely to support legalizing marijuana. This data should come as no surprise considering the recent political currents, and until very recently it would have struck me as good news.

Unfortunately, it seems to be that something is going wrong. The study also found that Millennials are 10 percent less likely to describe themselves as environmentalists and 10 percent less likely to be married. Whatever one’s views on these matters are, it is worrying that issues which were once so important are becoming less and less so.

How can we reconcile these seemingly conflicting discoveries? The fast and easy answer is that the standards for environmentalism and marriage have increased in recent years. In other words, it is feasible that back in the day you could litter and cheat, but still call yourself a happily married tree-hugger. Is it possible, though, that marriage and environmentalism are increasingly unpopular because, unlike views on same-sex marriage and drug use, they require commitment to others?  Is it possible these views have more to do with the fact that, at the same age, Millennials are 5 percent less likely to trust others than the previous generation, who were already 10 percent less likely than the generation preceding them?

My guess is the views on same-sex marriage and marijuana are good views held for the wrong reasons. Namely, this acceptance is not out of love for or connection to those who have various sexual orientations or use various drugs, but out of disregard and disconnection. Instead of thinking, “this is a good thing, and it should be legal so that I can be a part of it,” Millennials may be thinking, “this may or may not be a good thing, but it can be legal because it doesn’t matter to me and I can just avoid those people if need be.” That is to say, “you do you.”

Sure, there are exceptions. Many people uphold the moral views of Millennials without being disconnected. Unfortunately, these are still exceptions, and the results of this study show a trend that forecasts a grim future. At some point, it is worth asking if this data is credible. Were the sample sizes large enough? Were the variables controlled? Are the conclusions drawn from the results justified? These are all important questions, but they are irrelevant to the inquiry at hand.

This is the point: Many of us will be parents some day, and as our children grow up and become less dependent on us, we have the choice to encourage them to be either independent or interdependent. When the next generation encounters an obstacle, will there be flight or will there be a fight? Will we emphasize a hands-off or hands-on approach? Will we teach that strong relationships are worth the inevitable problems or will we tell them, “you do you?”

Jonathan Roach is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].